4 Valuable Time Management Tips for Medical Assistants
The job of Medical Assistant is a fulfilling and busy one. You’ll be a part of a healthcare team that makes a difference in peoples’ lives. But to do the job effectively, you’ll have to multitask and stay on top of all your responsibilities. There’s no room for error here. Patient histories, medical records, appointments, and examinations all need to be organized and accessible when necessary. It’s a demanding job, but if you have what it takes to be a Medical Assistant, there’s plenty of room to grow. Here are 4 time management tips for medical assistants.
1. Anticipate Physician and Patient Needs
It’s important to keep your eyes to the future. You don’t have to look miles down the road, but you should have an idea of what you want to accomplish, and how. Say you have a patient who sees the doctor regularly. Consider the patient’s past appointments to determine what works best for his/her schedule and the doctor’s. Prepare the examination room accordingly and have the medical records on-hand for when the doctor needs them.
2. Become Tech-Savvy and Software Fluent
Administrative responsibilities come with the job. Save yourself from wasted time by getting used to word processing software, patient databases, and scheduling programs. This will allow you to pull information quickly and efficiently. It will also help you communicate clearly with doctors and patients, and reduce the likelihood of minor mishaps.
3. Plan Your Daily Activities in Clusters
Another way to make the most of your time is to group all related activities together in practical clusters. So if you need to prepare some blood samples for lab tests, try to do as many as you can during that time. This will also help you plan ahead and to free up some time for unexpected events, which brings us to….
4. Free Up Time for Unexpected Events
The healthcare field is one in which unexpected events are the norm. With all of your data in line, your scheduling and patient records organized, and your day-to-day activities neatly clustered, you’ll have some wiggle room if an urgent event happens. You never know when a patient might need to book an emergency appointment, when the physician needs to compare patient histories, or when insurance providers need certain personal information for processing claims. But when you have a bit of extra time built into your schedule, you’ll be ready.
Charter College’s Medical Assistant Training program is designed to prepare you for the rigors and unexpected nature of being a medical assistant. You’ll learn technical and administrative skills you’ll use starting on day one of the job. And our externship course at a local clinic, physician’s office, or allied healthcare setting will give you a real-life taste of what the workplace is like in the medical assistant field; an up close look at how proper time management comes in handy. Reach out to Charter College for more information about the Medical Assistant Training Program today.